Alicia Sledge (left) and Julie Roth of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning present a national traffic safety award to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office. Photo courtesy of OHSP.

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office Secondary Road Patrol (SRP)/Traffic Safety Unit has received the Salute to Law Enforcement Officers Award from the National Association of Women Highway Safety Leaders (NAWHSL).

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) presented the honor during a ceremony on Thursday, May 18, on behalf of the association.

“The award recognizes Kent County’s continued strong commitment and dedication to traffic safety,” said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director.

The Secondary Road Patrol and Traffic Accident Prevention Program provides county sheriff’s offices with funding to patrol county and local roads outside the corporate limits of cities and villages.  The state grant program, managed by the OHSP, has the legislated primary responsibility of traffic enforcement and traffic crash prevention on secondary roads.

Deputies funded under the SRP program are responsible for traffic enforcement, traffic crash prevention and investigation, criminal law enforcement and emergency assistance to stranded motorists on secondary roadways.

In 2016, the Kent County SRP Traffic Safety Unit investigated 35 fatal traffic crashes, including alcohol- related crashes.

“Traffic safety remains a top priority in Kent County.  We are always seeking innovative ways to address this ongoing problem,” said Kent County Sheriff Lawrence A. Stelma.

The department has focused on drugged driving enforcement through its three Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) deputies.  A DRE is a law enforcement officer trained to identify people whose driving is impaired by drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol.

Stelma said deputies in the Traffic Safety Unit also have the equipment and training to precisely measure and map crash scenes.  This data is a vital investigative tool for criminal prosecution.

The unit has also established an online school bus red light violating reporting system that is used by bus drivers.  Reports are investigated by a deputy with proper enforcement action taken.

“We are grateful to receive this national honor and appreciate the ongoing support of the OHSP,” said Stelma.

The NAWHSL disseminates information and educational programs to promote safe traffic behavior and advocates for effective public programs to reduce motor vehicle related crashes, crash severity and the resulting deaths and injuries.

Child passenger safety week

When first responders arrive at the scene of a traffic crash, it’s important to have quick, accurate information about the vehicle occupants. That’s why traffic safety officials today unveiled an updated kid’s identification sticker for car seats.

For more than 20 years, the Office of Highway Safety Planning’s (OHSP) kid’s identification sticker has been an easy and effective way to provide crucial details during an emergency. When affixed to a car seat, it gives immediate access to vital facts about a child passenger if injured caregivers or an injured child are unable to do so.

The updated sticker includes spaces for the child’s name, as well as larger fields for medical information and allergies. There is additional room to list parents or guardians, the child’s physician and the name and phone number of an emergency contact. The new sticker comes with a flap that offers privacy and protects the information from fading.

“This sticker is a great item in any child safety advocate’s toolkit,” said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director. “Michigan has a network of more than 1,000 Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technicians who regularly meet with parents and caregivers to educate them about proper car seat use.”

Those technicians and safety advocates are observing CPS Week from Sept.18-24.  This national initiative raises awareness about car seat use and encourages caregivers to have their children’s car seats inspected by a certified CPS technician.  The event culminates on National Seat Check Saturday.

“During Child Passenger Safety Week, take time to get your car seat checked out,” said Jennifer Hoekstra, injury prevention specialist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. “Learning how to properly install your car seat can be a life-saving lesson for you and your entire family.”

Children must be properly buckled in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall. Children younger than age 4 must ride in a car seat in the back seat if a vehicle has a back seat. Babies and toddlers should ride rear-facing until at least age 2 or the upper weight or height limit of the seat.

To order the kid’s identification stickers, go to Michigan.gov/carseats. The website also includes links to child safety seat inspection stations, a list of CPS Week events and a series of educational videos on using car seats properly.

Make buckling up part of your summer routine

As the weather turns warmer and Michigan families look toward the travel season, police departments, Sheriff’s offices and the Michigan State Police will be conducting extra patrols across the state to encourage seat belt use.

The stepped up enforcement is part of the national Click It or Ticket campaign May 23-June 5. Research shows when seat belts are used properly, the risk of being killed in a crash is reduced by nearly 45 percent. The life-saving properties of a seat belt are more important than ever with recent data indicating Michigan crashes have increased in severity.

“This campaign is about achieving 100 percent voluntary compliance with the state’s mandatory seat belt law with zero citations issued,” said Michael L. Prince, Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) director. “Seven percent of those surveyed still are not wearing seat belts and that only increases the risk of serious injury or death.”

The campaign seeks to save lives by increasing seat belt use. For many drivers, stepped up enforcement and the threat of a ticket are greater incentives to buckle up than the risk of death or injury in a crash.

During last year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement, 6,113 seat belt and child seat citations were issued. Eight people died in traffic crashes during the 2015 Memorial Day holiday period, including three fatalities in one crash in Calhoun County and an unbelted driver in Ottawa County.

Michigan law requires drivers, front seat passengers, and passengers 15 and younger in any seating position to be buckled up. Children must be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4’9” tall, and children under 4 years old must be in the back seat.

OHSP coordinates the Click It or Ticket effort which is supported with federal funds. Grant-funded seat belt enforcement is part of Michigan’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2013.

Officers from police departments, sheriff’s offices and Michigan State Police posts across the state arrested 351 drunk drivers and issued 2,630 seat belt and child restraint citations during the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over crackdown. The stepped up drunk driving and seat belt enforcement began Aug. 21 and ran through the Labor Day holiday weekend.

“To enhance safety and reduce traffic fatalities, Michigan law enforcement officers have zero tolerance for motorists who fail to wear a seat belt, and they are experts at finding drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol,” said Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) director. “Motorists were warned to drive sober or get pulled over, and more than 300 drivers failed to heed that advice.”

Preliminary reports also indicate officers made 152 drug arrests and 41 felony arrests during the nearly three-week effort. Of the 351 arrests for drunk driving, 57 persons had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .17 percent or higher.

Law enforcement officers in Branch County stopped a vehicle for motorist seat belt violation and found the passengers had open intoxicants as well as outstanding arrest warrants.  A driver stopped for not wearing a seat belt in Wayne County had a BAC of .21. A motorcyclist arrested for operating while intoxicated in Clinton County had 11 prior drunk driving arrests.

According to preliminary reports, there were 13 traffic fatalities during the 2015 Labor Day holiday period. Three of those deaths involved alcohol and five vehicle occupants were not buckled up. During the 2014 Labor Day holiday period, five of the six fatal traffic crashes involved alcohol.

In Michigan, it is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, although motorists can be arrested at any BAC level if an officer believes they are impaired.  Motorists face enhanced penalties if arrested for a first-time drunk driving offense with a .17 BAC or higher.

Michigan law requires drivers, front seat passengers and passengers 15 and younger in any seating position to be buckled up. Children must be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4’9” tall, and children under 4 years old must be in the back seat.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign was supported with federal traffic safety funds coordinated by OHSP.  Grant-funded impaired driving and seat belt enforcement are part of Michigan’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2013.

The seasons may be changing, but some Michigan motorists are still dealing with the consequences of their summer drunk driving arrest during the Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. Statewide enforcement crackdown.
Between Aug. 19 and Sept. 5, officers conducted more than 11,300 traffic stops resulting in 230 arrests for drunk driving. This includes 34 drivers arrested for a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .17 or higher under Michigan’s High BAC Law.
“Over the Limit. Under Arrest. is designed to keep our roads safer by deterring people from driving drunk,” said Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) director. “We use a high visibility advertising campaign and increased police presence to get the word out, because the consequences of a drunk driving arrest last long after the summer travel season.”
This year’s crackdown also included seat belt enforcement zones and patrols during which officers issued 2,530 seat belt and child restraint citations.
In addition, officers made 74 drug-related arrests and issued 835 speeding citations, as well as 2,225 citations for other traffic violations.
The crackdown was coordinated by OHSP and paid for with federal traffic safety dollars. More than 200 state, county and local law enforcement agencies in 35 counties participated in the extra patrols.
Preliminary results from the Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center show there were 11 fatalities in 10 traffic crashes over the Labor Day holiday weekend in Michigan. Four of the crashes involved alcohol and a seat belt was not used in five of the seven fatalities in passenger vehicles. This represents an over 50 percent decrease in fatalities from the 2010 Labor Day holiday weekend when 21 people died in Michigan crashes; ten of those fatalities involved alcohol.